A Shattered Eclipse
by DramaDramaDrama
Summary: Nothing is certain in war: not life, not death, not even security from the unknown. Something is amiss in Forks. It has attracted the Volturi's attention, but it hardly has anything to do with Cullens, who are in the midst of fighting Victoria's newborn army. So if the war is not the problem, then what has the reclusive Marcus so mystified that he secretly leaves the Volturi?
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer_: We do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters associated with Twilight and its sequels.

* * *

Hello all, this is DramaDramaDrama and Principessa Volturi. We have decided to co-author a story together. This story, _A Shattered Eclipse_, will be told from a third person's point of view. We hope you enjoy it, so please tell us what you think by reading and reviewing!

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**Prologue**

The purple and gray smoke billowed over the ground and through the forest of trees saturated in green, creating an eerie fog like film that spread and encompassed the ground that a bronze haired vampire noiselessly glided over. It almost seemed to part as Edward stalked forward, desperately searching for his love's red headed foe.

Victoria.

Edward knew that she was out in the forest somewhere along with the rest of the Cullens and the pack, yet, thus far, all of Edward's attempts to find any of them had been in vain. They were nowhere to be found, and he was alone.

Panic filled him as another loud, metallic scream could be heard as an unrecognizable vampire met his or her final fate. He had heard several of them within his short time in the dense forest already, but the thought that the screams could very well originate from his family never failed to frighten him.

Who could it have been? Alice, Esme, or even Carlisle?

In the intervals between the screams, there was an unnatural silence that expanded over the dimly lit forest like the smoke. Between the smoke and silence, the atmosphere was almost suffocating. But the suppressiveness of the atmosphere as well as being separated from his love were not the only things weighing down the golden eyed vampires.

The young Cullen's posture showed defeat as the reality seemed to sink in. He was losing. Soon, he would not have to worry about having lost his family anymore, or anything in that matter. Soon, they would all be dead, and the newborns and Victoria would have gotten what they wanted.

Only then, as a piercing wave of pain shot through him, did he hesitate in his steps. To lose his family would be to loose everything. Unfortunately, the chance of him loosing his family was greater than what he wanted to admit.

Whatever way he looked at it, the Cullens were at a total disadvantage. Victoria had been smart — she had impulsively changed her tactic before the battle, rendering Alice's previous vision useless. They had prepared for a battle that would never happen; at least not the way they had imagined it.

The last he had checked, Alice's gift was now blurred — even so, Edward still had full usage of his mind reading abilities. The only problem was, there was no one around for him to read the minds of, rendering his supernatural ability useless.

He was isolated. His family was dying, and he could not help them.

He knew that he had to get back to his coven. He might not see Isabella or the rest of his family again after all if he didn't. Jasper had installed a certain level of fear into all of them about the dangers of being separated from others in battle.

"Bella!"

The slightly distressed Edward continued to move forward, perhaps a bit more blindly now than before as unconditional fear was numbing him from the inside out. Each step the Cullen took was weighed down with uncertainty, but never once did he falter in his movement.

He had to find his love, if it was the last he would do. This was all his fault. She did not deserve to die for his mistakes!

Edward realized that perhaps selfishly trying to see his family for the last time was the wrong move — no, he was going to do whatever he could to buy them more time.

He was on a quest, one that would end in the death of a certain red-headed vampire and possibly himself, of that much he was certain of.

* * *

Thousands of miles away in Volterra, Italy, another quest was about to be embarked on.

This one would be pursued by a much more confident vampire: Marcus Volturi, ruler and king of the vampire race. He knew nothing about the Cullen's predicament other than the possibility that he might cross them at some point in his journey, for his destination was Forks, Washington.

But this trip was not about gathering information. Of course Marcus was zealous to discover more about his friend Carlisle's quirky coven of 'vegetarians'; truthfully, though, he would be traveling for another reason.

His reason was a certain clumsy yet strangely graceful human girl with knowledge of his existence. This human had come to the Volturi willingly to save her vampire love a mere year ago.

Her friend was Edward Cullen and the girl was none other than Isabella Swan.

Marcus had been present at the time of their arrival and had met both of them. He had also read the bonds and found something remarkable, something truly amazing in Isabella's.

It was for this reason why he would be going to her this time. Alone. He had taken his time in thinking it over, but now he was truly certain.

Making up his mind, in a fluid notion he got up from his throne and called for one of the Volturi's most trusted guards, Alec. It would become ironic, in a sense, that Marcus would rely on this guard to help him with his departure.

Marcus had decided at once that he would refuse the company of the guards on the trip. Retrieving Isabella was something Marcus felt compelled to do on his own without the help of anyone else.

Once the young guard, eternally frozen at the age of seventeen, returned back to his master stating that everything was in order, Marcus took care in reminding the guard not to mention any of this to anyone. It was a moot point concerning his mind reading brother, but Marcus was confident that while his brother would undoubtedly be curious, he would not openly speak of this.

Marcus felt no need to be bothered with Caius, as out of the three joint ruling kings, the blonde haired vampire with a more sinister attitude, did not have a detectable gift of the senses. It was speculated privately between Aro and Marcus that it was because of Caius' lack of any mental or physical ability that made him cold hearted.

Now Marcus was a little skeptical about that being the only reason.

Picking up his pace so that he could leave the castle undetected, the third king exited his place of residence and headed in the direction of the airport.

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**As/N: **So, there it is. What do you think? What will happen to the Cullens, and what is Marcus' quest? Please leave a review, they are greatly appreciated.

\- Principessa Volturi and DramaDramaDrama


	2. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer_: We do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters associated with Twilight and its sequels.

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Hello again! Here we are again, with an update. We are so happy with all the follows/favorites and reviews this story has received! (Please keep them coming!) This chapter is about Bella and Alec. Please Read and Review!

-DramaDramaDrama and Principessa Volturi

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**Chapter 1**

Lying on her best friend's bed, a young brunette in vain tried to distract herself from her worries by chatting softly with the usually abnormally quiet Angela Weber, a look of slight surprise at Bella's presence still evident on the girl's face. The topic of discussion was a school project that would be due the following week. Little did the brunette know, at the time, that she would never get the chance to turn it in.

Isabella Swan was spending the night with Angela — her father, Charlie Swan, was spending the night over at his friend's Billy's house, the official reason being so that the two friends could get an early start on fishing tomorrow.

Charlie had not thought about this much. He had been too pleasantly surprised when Bella told him that she was going to spend the night with Angela and not with her boyfriend, whom he harbored an intense dislike for, to dare to question her about the Cullens. Or perhaps he did not care enough to ask.

Either way, unknowingly to both Charlie and Bella, that night father and daughter had said their hurried final goodbyes and went their separate ways.

It was then, when Angela finally stopped talking about her ideas for their shared school project, that Bella became anxious again. Although she tried not to show it, and attempted desperately to enjoy Angela's company, the reality of her situation was catching up with her.

The sad truth was that she impatiently awaited word from her second family, the Cullens, who had said they would text her once everything had been dealt with. Isabella's childhood friend Jacob and his pack were helping the Cullens in fighting Victoria and her newborn army; and at Bella's plea, Billy had agreed to watch over her father for the evening. Ensuring his wellbeing for one more night, and for that she was thankful.

In this case, to hear something— _anything_, would be a good thing.

The two young adults of eighteen lapsed into an uncomfortable, awkward silence once no more could possibly be discussed about the school project. All that could have been said had been said. Bella's silence was filled with worry and anxiety while Angela's was sympathetic and concerning as she observed her friend struggle with some unknown burden.

Angela was indeed curious to know what troubled her classmate, but she was too shy to ask her friend to give any details. Upon arriving at the Weber domicile, Bella had not provided her with an explanation apart from that the Cullens had decided at the last minute to take a hiking trip and Charlie had decided to spend the night at Billy's, therefore, leaving her alone at the house, and somehow, Angela did not buy it.

Now, in this awkward silence, Bella was not alone, but still felt lonely. Bella detested being lonely. It was something she had often been forced to cope with, but never had quite grown used to over the past few months. Edward was almost always with her, and on his rare absences, Alice or another Cullen was there; with the exception of those rare, sunny days, where they all went 'camping', of course. But it almost always seemed forced.

But she did not ponder much upon her loneliness. There were, after all, much more pressing matters for her to worry about: the Cullens were on the battlefield, fighting for her life, with no-one assuring Bella that they were in fact still alive. But even that was not all — above all, she experienced a great, all-numbing fear of losing her own life during the course of the night, possibly endangering her friend, too.

Even now, when she had made sure not to dwell in a place that reeked of her scent for the night, she could never truly be certain that Victoria and her army would not catch up with her. Not even Seth, the young wolf that was standing guard hidden behind a thick bush in the Weber's garden, could assure her that she would live through the night.

She could gain it all within the next few hours: freedom, hope, a certain, problem-free future with those she belonged with. Love. Yet she could just as well lose it all. Then she would be dead and gone before sunrise. All the pain she had taken, all the times she had silently endured it for the sake of her family, would have been for nothing.

And she was helpless. She was a pawn on her own chess board, completely at the mercy of those she had entrusted with keeping her safe.

Just thinking about it made her tremble with fear.

Too nervous to do much of anything, Bella clutched her phone, hoping that the small black device would buzz to tell her something.

The unknowing suspense was almost killing her.

But she was not the only one feeling it. There was another person, habitant in Volterra, Italy, whose deepest emotions could have very well been described in exactly the same fashion (minus the killing part).

Alec, brother to the notorious Jane, was concerned over the Master Marcus' departure. Not once since Master Caius had almost been killed by a werewolf many many years ago had any one of the three kings left without the presence of a small guard.

The secrecy of it all, as Master Marcus had deliberately warned of retribution if Alec lead anyone on about his Master's departure, had Alec worried. No-one had prepared him for this kind of situation, and he had not the slightest idea on what to do.

The Masters Aro, Caius and Marcus thought, sentenced and executed as one. That was the way it had been for millennia. What could possibly have driven Master Marcus to act out of the ordinary? And why, above all, was he doing it in secret?

He felt compelled to tell someone his knowledge. For a long time did he quarrel with himself, but in the end decided that he could, if it was staged like an accident.

Marcus would never know, as there were still some untold and unspoken secrets that were being kept from him.

Listening closely to find Master Aro's whereabouts, Alec headed off in the direction of the main chamber. Running at full speed to make quick time, Alec hurried to catch his Master.

Intercepting the raven haired vampire, whom Alec had pledged his allegiance to when he and his sister were changed, he 'accidently' brushed Aro's hand. Hardly phasing the older vampire, Aro quickly grabbed Alec's hand so that he could get a better 'look' at his thoughts, closing his eyes in concentration, only to open them again mere moments later.

Taking in this newly discovered information, Aro brusquely walked to tell his other brother, leaving Alec free to go find his sister and alone with his thoughts.

Moving nowhere near as fast as before, Alec noticed the sudden feeling of change in the air. He did not understand it. He quickly shrugged it off in consequence, only to wish later on that he had not.

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**As/N: **How did you like the update? Why is Bella more concerned for her own life than the Cullens'? Why has she received no response yet? And what does Alec have to do with all this? Keep reading to find out, and please leave a review. Also, thank you again for all the feedback _A Shattered Eclipse_ has already received!

\- Principessa Volturi and DramaDramaDrama


	3. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer_: We do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters associated with Twilight and its sequels.

* * *

Hello again, We hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday! This chapter will be about Marcus and Isabella. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it.

\- Principessa Volturi and DramaDramaDrama

* * *

**Chapter 2**

So far so good.

The third leader of the notoriously feared Volturi smiled after he boarded his awaiting private jet without arousing the attention of any of his cohorts. Marcus knew that it would only be a matter of time before his brothers found out about his absence and sent guards to try to find him, yet he hoped to delay this moment for as long as possible.

The reason for this was simple: the foolish guards would interfere with his overall plans and, by accident or not, surely hinder his initial efforts, something that Marcus was not willing to risk as he needed to get to Forks.

Not having been outside of the Volterra city walls on a mission in over a millennium, Marcus was certainly not half as good at protecting himself as the elite guard was. But no matter the existential danger he was placing himself in, he felt that he simply had to do this. His motive was not overly personal, but at the same time it was, as he would personally be affected by his upcoming actions.

Preferably without the company of the somewhat lesser controlled members of the guard, Marcus could, and would, be able to pull this off.

What exactly Marcus would be pulling off, though, was a question within itself. Although the Volturi king knew roughly what he needed to do, his exact plan of action was still uncertain.

So many controlling but unknown factors could easily thwart his plans. It was crucial for him to go into Forks almost completely undetected, both by the vampires whom resided there —not to mention his own coven— and the humans whom the Cullens were able to coexist with so peacefully. No one could know about his presence, with the exception of one human.

This human, fortunately, had already been told of the existence of vampires, which decreased the difficulty of Marcus' task drastically. The jet's cabin seemed to darken momentarily as he thought of her.

She—Isabella, or Bella as he had been told—had been made aware of vampires, and was currently the Cullens' pet. Not in a demeaning or demoralizing way, but a pet nonetheless.

Perhaps Marcus only labeled Bella as a pet due to the fact that he had seen personally the way in which she followed Edward Cullen around like a lost puppy and gave into the whims of her boyfriend's sister, Alice, with a single puppy eyed look. But Marcus knew that if Bella stayed with the Cullen's than she would never reach her fullest potential.

Marcus knew too that the world that he and his brothers had tried so hard and for so long to build would not necessarily shatter, but be crippled without Isabella's direct involvement — presenting one of the reasons he was currently sitting in a plane to America.

Several hours later, which Marcus had successfully filled with thought, the jet started to descend.

Although the airport was only a momentary stop before his final destination, Marcus took himself a second to remind his pilot to be ready for immediate take off upon his return. After Marcus finished conducting his business with the pilot and co-pilot, he wasted little time before completing the rest of his journey.

Running through the rain saturated forest and grounds, he quickly came upon his final destination of Forks, WA. Immediately he picked up on the one human scent that he was already attuned to. Isabella. But there were others, vampires, that were not apart of the Cullen coven, and a lot of them.

Marcus' original plan was to follow Isabella's trail with the sole intent of grabbing and going. But now, as he could smell her in the presence of another human, he was forced to rethink his actions. Unfortunately, he had failed to plan ahead on the possible account that Isabella might be in the company of a mortal. He sighed as he realized that 'grabbing and going' was no longer a possibility, as he might reveal his and his species' secret along the way.

That train of thought would have to wait though, as it appeared that the Cullens could possibly be in some sort of distress. Many times had Aro explained to him the exact location of their domicile, intrigued by its modern architecture and design, yet now as he stood there, the house which, even from several miles away, smelled strongly of vampires, held no scent of the Olympic coven which was not over a day old.

The ancient vampire did not know what to think of the situation. Were the Cullens merely hunting, or was it any sort existential danger that had forced them to leave the safety of their Mansion? And either way, whatever it was that they were busy doing, would they be able to hinder his actions?

Hoping that Isabella would not change locations in the few seconds it would take him to see if his friend Carlisle's coven was momentarily any threat to him, he sprinted off.

Running swiftly in deathly silence the closer Marcus got to the Cullen's home, the surer he was of their distress. The Cullens, as he had already found out, did not appear to be at home, Marcus surmised at once after listening intently and not being able to detect any signs of life, no pun intend.

He could, however, make out a subtle feeling of despair, and urgency in the air. A battle, possibly?

Storing this knowledge for later, Marcus briefly made note to send for reinforcements if it wasn't already too late. All the while keeping in mind, that in truth, the Olympic Coven was not really in favor with any of the Volturi at the moment, and therefore this might have an overall affect on the timely manner and type of guards sent.

Once certain that the Cullens were fighting and fully distracted and preoccupied, Marcus made his way back into town.

As the ancient vampire reached the city center, however, he realized that the Cullens fighting could and would only buy him and his plan so much time. Naturally it was within the realm of possibilities for him to find the human and leave before the battle was over — but what would happen once the Olympic Coven had lost its distraction?

Certainly, they would understand what had happened and show up in Volterra within the course of a day.

Marcus sighed. He needed to cover his tracks. With the exception of Carlisle, none of the Cullens would recognize his scent, and even Carlisle would not recognize it if it was not fresh. They would know that some kind of stranger had been to Forks, but not who exactly.

Although, Marcus told himself, eventhough without recognizing his scent, it would not take a genius to figure out that the Volturi were behind it. Unless...

Unless he gave them a reason to believe that his coven could not possibly be behind it. His face brightened as it came to him. And what did the Volturi never do: behave human.

As slowly as he could possibly go without using his vampiric speed, Marcus walked through the city, spotting a police station at the end of the street. A smile graced his lips as he realized that all it would take to cover his tracks was to act a little lost and interact with as many humans in a friendly way as possible.

Before long, he entered the police station, finding an artificially blond woman in her late fourties at the reception. She was reading a copy of _Seventeen_, he noticed as he got closer.

"Excuse me," the millennia old vampire asked politely, attempting to look as lost and desperate as possible. "Could you... could you perhaps help me with some directions?"

The woman looked up, and from the way that she stared at him, he knew that his fake desperation had to be very convincing.

"Oh, of course!" She smiled politely. "Are you okay, sir? Can I get you some coffee?"

Marcus shook his head. "Oh no, I'm fine. Thank you, though. I just require some directions."

"Of course. Where to, if I may ask?"

"I'm visiting a friend," he said. "Bella Swan. Could you perhaps tell me where I could find the Swan residence?"

The woman eagerly gave Marcus the directions, asking several times if he needed something to drink. Eventually, after several minutes of polite small-talk, he left the station.

Marcus then followed Bella's freshest trail, one that lead to a house that up until this night, had not held Bella's smell before.

His heightened senses alerted him that Bella was with another and that the other girl was a human.

Marcus would have to come up with a plan, or if everything else failed, a lie to get Bella away from her friend. Only, what was he to say?

* * *

Few minutes later, Angela and her friend, Bella, had made their way into the Webber's living room, deciding to watch a movie in order to avoid going back to awkward silence. However, just as the brown-haired girl with the cute glasses had shown her visitor to her DVD collection, the doorbell rang.

"Are you expecting someone?" Bella asked confusedly.

"No, actually." Angela shook her head. "But I'll go and see who it is, anyway. Maybe you can have a look through my collection in the meantime...?"

Bella shrugged. "Sure."

Angela quickly got up, putting on a long, fluffy bathrobe to cover up her PJ's, and opened the door.

Standing infront of her was a man she had never seen before — eventhough a quiet voice in her head had already decided that she wanted to see him again. The reasons being, simply, that he was beautiful beyond comparison of anything she had ever seen.

In a strange way, the man reminded her of the Cullens; same pale complexion, same beauty, same weird eye color - the only difference being that this man's eyes were crimson, not topaz. She quickly let the thought drop, though. For if he was related to the Cullens, why on Earth would he be standing infront of her door now?

"Hello," the unknown man, short brown hair framing his long, masculine face said. His voice strangely reminded Angela of honey.

"Hello," she replied shyly. "Can I help you?"

He smiled politely. "Actually, yes, you could. I'm terribly sorry for interrupting at this late hour, but I was just in the area due to business and remembered that there was someone in Forks who I should pay a visit to. Maybe you could give me some directions?"

Angela looked down at the man, only to find him dressed in a long black velvet cloak.

"My great-grandfather's," the man explained, noticing her observations. "It may not be the most modern piece of clothing, but it most certainly keeps the cold away."

There was a strange sense of pride in his bright red eyes, as if he was happy with himself for giving this specific answer.

Angela blushed, embarrassed that the stranger had caught her looking. "Of course," she said. "I'm sorry, that was very impolite of me."

"No need to be ashamed," he kindly dismissed her worries. "Could you please help me with some directions, though?"

Again, Angela blushed. "I.. I'd be happy too. Who exactly were you planning on visiting, if I may ask?"

"A lovely young woman by the name of Isabella Swan."

Angela laughed. "Well, you won't need to look very far, then" she replied. "She's in my house, actually. I'll come and get her. If I may ask your name...?"

"Marcus."

"I'll be right back, then."

Angela hastily ran back into the living room, finding Bella sitting on the couch with a DVD in her hands.

"There's someone there who was looking for directions to your house," she said. "He said he was in the area and wanted to pay you a visit."

"That can't be," Bella laughed anxiously. "I barely know anyone out of Forks except of my mom and Phil."

Her friend shrugged. "Weird," she noted. "He didn't really look like the serial killer type. Said his name's Marcus."

Within the blink of an eye, Bella completely froze. There was a glint of desperation in her eyes, and Angela could almost hear her heart beating out of her chest. "What?!"

"Do you know him?" Angela asked.

"Yeah," she whispered. Bella stared into the direction of the door, then at Angela, then down at herself — and back to Angela. She looked her friend directly into the eyes for several seemingly everlasting seconds, a combination of anxiety and self-control in her eyes, before finally sighing, "Yeah, I know him."

Hesitantly at first, but then becoming more sure of herself with every step, Bella made her way towards the door. Angela followed her, worried by Bella's reaction at hearing of Marcus' arrival.

"Hello again, Isabella," Marcus greeted, a polite smile gracing his thin lips.

"Hello again, Marcus." She gulped.

"I am happy that we meet again, my dear. I wished this reunion to happen under different circumstances, but as they say, _potiusque sero quam nun quam_."

"Better late than never," Bella translated. The glimmer of anxiety had still not left her eyes.

"I propose we take this conversation elsewhere," Marcus suggested. "I believe we have some catching up to do."

Bella nodded a little too enthusiastically. "Of course." Turning to Angela, she said, "Sorry, Ang. I'll be back by morning, okay?"

"I guess."

* * *

**As/N**: We hope you enjoyed it! Please leave behind a review, and thank you for all the follows/favs!

\- Principessa Volturi and DramaDramaDrama


	4. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer_: We do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters associated with Twilight and its sequels.

* * *

Hello again! We sincerely apologize for the long wait and hope 2015 is treating you good so far. This chapter is about Angela, Marcus and Isabella. Read and Review, please.

\- Principessa Volturi and DramaDramaDrama

* * *

All of the inhabitants of the small town of Forks, Washington were, and always had been, under a dark cloud. It was not quite a physical cloud as much as it was a mere symbol for the unexplainable unease and anxiety of its sparse population, but on this one gray-in-gray winter day, one would have been blind to miss how the dark, all-omitting cloud above Forks perfectly matched the emotions of its inhabitants.

This one cloud was a rain cloud of never-before seen dimension and grayness. On the extremely rare occasion, the sun would peek out from behind it. On that day, for no obvious reason whatsoever, no-one in town could quite take it off their minds; in the most unusual and strange way, they were fascinated by it.

Angela was no exception, but she deeply wished that her obviously troubled and secretive friend would be able to overcome the storm and see the sun again.

The eighteen-year-old had been taken off guard by the sudden appearance of the man who she only knew as Marcus. There was really not much else she could say about him. He was handsome, there was no doubt about it, almost even more so than the Cullens, whose beauty was enough to make ultimately anyone feel inferior. Polite too, and according to the impression she had gotten of him, he seemed to be everything a girl would and could want in a man.

But Bella had sounded so upset when she had learned about this Marcus, that Angela couldn't help but wonder if this casual visit was as it seemed.

Bella, who had been worried all evening about something, seemed to become even more anxious at the mention of this mysterious Marcus. Although it was not in Angela's nature to meddle in other people's business, she could not help but wonder how Bella and Marcus knew each other and if this Marcus was of any relation to the Cullens.

Angela suddenly felt compelled to see where this Marcus was taking her friend, watching as the two descended the steps and walked down to the road. Soon, though, it became too dark to follow them, and by the time she thought to turn on the porch light, it would probably be too late as both were probably well on their way back to Bella's place.

Angela, concerned as she was about something she could not quite place, went to make sure that her DVD collection was in order before turning in for the night, deciding that it was out of her power to worry about the unknown. Surely, she would hear from Bella in the morning.

It never occurred to Angela to worry about the possibility of not hearing from her friend or to worry about her friend's safety. Forks was a small town, and serious crimes such as kidnapping were hard to come by.

So Angela fell asleep unassuming of the troublesome days that lay ahead, the dark cloud next to doubling its size in the sky while she descended into slumber.

These would be the final hours of relative peace that Forks would experience for a while.

Little did Angela know at the time, but the mysterious man who had only introduced himself as Marcus, would cause her sheltered life to become one that could rival a life of a character in a horror film.

The sleepy town of Forks was about to make its public debut in the worst of ways. A kidnapping of a small town's Police Chief's only daughter. No ransom note, no suicide letter, absolutely nothing. There would be no leads besides a handsome stranger with no last name asking around for the Swans.

This was just how Marcus had intended it: a case that was cold from the very start.

Upon awakening the next morning, Angela checked her phone to see if Bella had called or text messaged her anytime during the night. She hadn't. There was only a message from her boyfriend, Ben.

Deciding that it was early yet and that Bella might still be asleep, Angela went along with her morning routine.

It was hours later that Angela finally began to worry and tried to contact her friend; to no avail, however.

When consulting her parents about Bella's promise to contact her the following morning, her parents tried to ease her mind by saying that she was probably at the Cullens, and if she had not called by the evening, they would run by the Swan's and see if she had made it home okay after showing Marcus off.

They were just as unassuming and naïve as she was.

In the end, however, no amount of soothing and coaxing could help. Angela, who was always so compassionate, feared that her friend was not going to return the calls that she had left and that the only option would be to go to the police.

* * *

"So," Bella eventually spoke up. "Are you going to kill me right away, or do I get a few more minutes until we reach a forest or somewhere else desolate?"

"I'm not going to kill you, Isabella." The vampire to her side merely chuckled. "If I had wanted to do that, I would have done it several months ago in Volterra. You are safe with me."

There was a short silence as Bella allowed Marcus' words to sink in.

"What is this, then?" She asked.

"You may have been a pet," the vampire said, "but you have never been stupid. You know, just as well as I do, the reason for my visit, do you not, Miss Swan?"

Bella gulped.

"Well," she whispered in realization, "I suppose death is relative."

"I knew you would not disappoint my expectations, Isabella."

"I..." Bella sighed. "I can't just leave here. Charlie, Edward, Alice... hell, even Jessica and Mike! I can't just leave them."

"Yet you will," Marcus answered. "And I am aware that it may seem impossible right now, but life will go on."

"So this is it, then? No goodbye, no letter, not even a faked death?"

"I suppose the faked death is debatable," Marcus said. "Would that be important to you? From my experience, I can say that an unexplained disappearance usually does the trick."

Trying her hardest to stay silent so that her kidnapper would not witness her weakness, a single tear rolled down Bella's cheek.

Marcus noticed, though. "Please," he soothed the young woman, "do not fret, Isabella. This, right now, is already the hardest part. Everything will get better afterwards, take my word for it."

Bella nodded quietly.

"Now," Marcus continued, "there is a private jet waiting for us in Seattle, but we still need to come up with a means to get there. Say, would carrying be an acceptable method to you?"

As it turned out, though, Marcus need not even have been concerned as just then, the last vampire he had expected to see in this very moment provided a solution to Marcus' problem. Jumping out of a glossy black limousine that had just pulled up on the curb, Jane walked up to her Master who in turn shielded Bella from her all-permeating, apathetic glare.

Bella, feeling that it was better to comply and keep quiet, allowed Marcus to gently push her behind him as his posture stiffened slightly.

Marcus was aware that his efforts were in vain, yet still he knew that this situation would be much easier for the human woman if only she at least felt partially secure.

"Master," Jane adressed Marcus with an angelic smile. "We have missed you."

"One would imagine that as one of your leaders, I would possess the freedom to leave our dear hometown for a mere day without having to be tracked down by my guard." Anger was evident in his voice.

Jane's smile vanished. "I cordially apologize for my behavior, Master. Masters Aro and Caius were very certain of this plan of action, though."

"Why do I have no trouble believing that..." Marcus snarled.

"If you would please follow me, Master," Jane said. "The others are waiting in the vehicle. The girl is welcome, too."

Bella tensed, her heartbeat racing at the mention of herself.

Marcus sighed, then nodded in defeat and motioned her to follow him to a parked limo and to get in, with him following suit after her.

What welcomed them however, was not the guards that had travelled along with Jane, but Aro himself.

"Isabella! What a pleasure to see you!" Smiling with charismatic expression that immediately put Bella on edge, he greeted her like a lost friend that he had known for years rather than a few seconds.

"The feeling is mutual," Bella replied uncomfortably.

"I am glad to hear so," the overly cheerful vampire king replied. "I must admit that I did not expect a reunion between the two of us this quickly, what with the Cullens not exactly feeling comfortable around my coven and whatnot."

"Neither did I." She gulped. "May I ask though... what happened to the Cullens? Excuse me, but I need to know. Are they alright?!"

"I sent Jane, Alec, Demetri and Felix to aid them," he said. "I do not know if they are alright, but if they are not, then they will be soon."

A wave of relief washed over her.

"May I ask something of you, too, dearest Isabella?"

She nodded uncertainly.

"You see," the king extended his hand, "I know that it will not work, but... just grant me one last try to assure myself once and for all, if you will."

Insecurely, she extended her hand towards his, only stopping when their fingers touched. Aro closed his eyes in concentration, and Bella shivered from the coldness his hand was exuding. She too closed her eyes, knowing that it would be useless, and simply hoped for the uncomfortable moment to go by.

She was not disappointed when Aro found out that his powers were rendered useless. A true smile graced the lips of the leader of the Volturi coven, and a whole hearted laugh sounded throughout the vehicle.

"Fascinating," he commented.

* * *

**As/N:** So, how did you like it? Once again, sorry for the long wait, and we hope you enjoyed it. Please remember to leave behind a review, and thank you for all the kind reviews, follows and favs so far!

\- Principessa Volturi and DramaDramaDrama


	5. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer_: We do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters associated with Twilight and its sequels.

* * *

Hello there! Thank you so much for your reviews and support! We really appreciate it. This chapter is about Caius, Edward and Isabella. Read and Review, as usual.

\- Principessa Volturi and DramaDramaDrama

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Caius paced.

Pacing was something he had mastered down to the sciences eons ago. His reason for it was simple — he was at a loss. Mystified as to what the Cullen's could possibly be up to, to warrant both of his brothers' attention.

Aro's interest in the Cullens was no surprise to Caius, as it was Aro's doing alone that caused Carlisle and the Volturi to share brotherly ties. But Marcus, the brother who was willing to let the world pass him by, to actually show interest in the coven that resided in the "New World"...?

That alone was enough to raise eyebrows, but for Marcus to take it more than a couple steps forward and secretly leave the Volturi for an undisclosed amount of time to travel to the Americas in order to assist the vegetarian coven was far beyond Caius' understanding.

Caius, having had a feeling that bloodshed was in the Cullens' future, had originally demanded to see the downfall of the coven that had defied all that vampirism had ever stood for, but Aro firmly forbade such a notion; stating that they could not all go, as someone had to stay behind and govern their secret society.

And then, a mere day ago, he had showed up in Caius' room, begging him to stay behind and rule in his stead while Aro helped Marcus in taking care of whatever problem the Cullens had gotten themselves into. He argued that it was necessary for him to be there personally because of his gift, and that no-one else could be trusted with the task in case Caius demanded to come with him.

He, not able to find fault in Aro's logic —although he most certainly tried— reluctantly agreed to stay behind and pass judgement. Perhaps he would be able to deem offenders guilty just for the sake of releasing some of his pent up frustration.

Caius had originally wanted to go and search for his mate once again, but then Aro had come along and rendered his plans impossible. The bastard. Aro had never specifically explained why he would leave, Caius realized in retrospect, only the fact that the Cullens were overdue a visit and Marcus had wanted to check upon the status of Edward's intended mate.

He had heard of this girl, Isabella, although he had yet to meet her. Unfortunately he had been absent, tracking down the whereabouts of the remaining Romanians down with Demetri, when she had been in Volterra less than a year ago. He knew only few things about her.

He knew, for instance, that she was a human who had somehow figured out the existence of vampires and had befriended the vegetarian coven. He knew not, though, nor cared about her current state of being, knowing that she would be turned or killed by the guard immediately if reason should arise.

What he did care about, though, was the one thing that secretly caused much distress to the usually egotistic ruler: that he was without a mate. Although Caius's sadness could in no way be compared to that of his brother Marcus, those who were close enough to see and know the true Caius knew that he was not happy.

Caius had long since started searching for her, his other half, hoping that finding her would make him and his existence a happier one. Thus far, all attempts had proven to be futile. Still, Caius searched on with the shred of hope that it was as simple as that his mate had not been born yet, wether as a mortal or an immortal.

Having witnessed it many times over, Caius knew that the Fates worked in strange ways, never making it easy to predict what was to come next. He was certain that there was not the matter of if he found his mate, but when he found her. And he knew that when that day came, she would be the very reason and the sole purpose for his existence.

Still Caius could not help but feel mildly frustrated, and he resented his brothers as they embarked on this secretive mission to achieve whatever it was they wanted to achieve. They knew how much Caius disliked the Cullens and how much he enjoyed taking lives, and still they had not allowed him to come along as the day of what hopefully was the Olympic Coven's demise had come?

Sighing at the path that his thoughts had taken, Caius did not even spare a glance towards Guards who had entered the room, both appeared to be anticipating something. Something that they were very likely not to get —not when Caius was dictating the castle— and particularly not when Caius was thinking about his future mate.

"Master," the newcomers voiced in greeting, "When do we depart? The plane has been idling for some time now-"

A vicious snarl erupted from the blonde in the room, efficiently shutting both Santiago and Afton up.

Caius did not indulge the information that the plane was indeed not sitting idle as Aro had promptly employed it to help assist him in his travels. It was of no concern to them. They, after all, were not looking for their mate. They had been happily mated for quite some time now.

They did not understand his troubles.

Abruptly stopping in mid-stride of his brooding pace, Caius turned swiftly towards the two guards, who had merely further darkened his mood, and stalked passed them to go sulk over his misfortune in another part of the dark and foreboding castle.

* * *

Meanwhile in Forks, Edward was momentarily stunned into shock as he suddenly detected the thoughts of more vampires, vampires who were rapidly closing in. On him. Just before the panic had time to tenfold, the vampires gathered around him, surrounding him.

Confusion was evident in Edward's eyes as he was greeted by a weary looking Alec. This, at least, was what the latter vampire observed upon reaching the Cullen who, in a sense, had brought all of this conflict on himself.

Alec glanced towards his twin, who appeared to be as stoic as ever, undoubtedly zealous to get a lawbreaker under her never wavering gaze that was both colder than ice and hotter than a burning flame.

Alec was the quieter of the two, therefore allowed his twin to do the talking, while taking in the surroundings, checking for any immediate danger. Within seconds, he found one vampire lurking closer to their location within the woods but not near enough to cause a threat. Demetri and Felix were also assessing the situation, carefully analyzing and strategically formulating a plan of attack or defense, whichever the situation called for.

Jane's dry voice interrogated the Cullen, milking him for information which she hastily received. Nodding to herself, Jane's eyes flickered over the fog shrouded forest and stealthily and expertly maneuvered her body just as a newborn jumped out from a nearby tree.

Alec did not rush to his sister's aid, but rather left her to do what she did best, knowing full well she would neither appreciate nor want his help. Instead the other witch twin dashed through the ever descending veil of fog and smoke, determined to end this uprising as soon as possible.

Dealing with —much less helping— the Cullens had never been high on Alec's list of priority, however, Master Marcus and Master Aro both deemed it necessary. Alec knew that Master Marcus was not pleased with his betrayal, and the least Alec could do was treat this assignment like all others and give it his all.

The Cullen surged forward in determination as he focused solely on a bright red headed vampire who had came into full view.

She stopped in her tracks and snarled in fury.

Alec paused slightly in turn and observed to see if the Cullen, who likely had no experience in fighting thanks to his passive leader, needed help. It appeared that the bronze haired vampire did not require protection, standing with this vampire who was obviously not a newborn but was a former acquaintance of Edward Cullen's.

Alec dashed off in order to find a newborn or another Cullen, letting the metallic screams direct the dark grey cloaked vampire through the trees as the cold moon shone down illuminating the deadly young vampire, and leaving the newborn that had been trailing behind him since almost the beginning shudder in fear, possibly making her rethink her involvement in this whole fight.

Nonetheless, the naïve newborn made the deadly mistake of allowing her fear and drive to survive consume her, and she lunged for an attack.

Alec was used to surprise attacks and had the upper hand in this fight in every way that mattered. He was disciplined and experienced, but also confident in his actions and that showed as he executed his defensive attack upon the newborn who lacked all skills necessary to survive in an attack against the Volturi.

It was only once the newborn was dealt with that the young looking vampire moved on to scout for more unlawfully created newborns and ensure that they too, became nothing more than a smoldering ember of ash.

* * *

Back in the limo yet another scene was playing out, this one's outcome seeming to be more positive than the one Isabella was leaving behind — or was heading into.

"Enough," Bella stated, surprising both Marcus and Caius. "Enough of this politeness. I'm not stupid. What are you going to do with me? Obviously you are going to make me one of you — otherwise I would already be dead. But that can't be all. Marcus wouldn't have been all sneaky about it then. No, this is something different. Something bigger."

Aro glared at Marcus. "Yes brother, while I do enjoy Isabella's presence, I would like to know why I am enjoying it now instead of in a month, when a party would have been sent for her humanity."

Marcus nodded. "As you wish."

Turning towards Isabella, Marcus captured the nervous human's gaze before launching into a perplexing explanation that seemed to have come straight from the pages of a storybook.

"As Isabella cleverly guessed, I came to bring her back to Italy... to unite her with her mates—."

Isabella's jaw dropped in shock and surprise.

"Mates! Marcus, whatever do you mean? Surely my hearing has somehow failed and is deceiving me! How could Isabella possibly be mated to more than one vampire? I am getting way too old for these types of surprises. I presume that there are two others besides Isabella? Who are they? Oh, what am I doing asking these questions, quick brother, let me see your thoughts!"

Marcus obliged to his eccentric brother's demand before shooting a slight smile to a very confused looking Isabella.

"As it would appear, Isabella has two mates—no more and no less," Marchs said. "Both are a part of the Volturi coven and have been for many centuries. I suppose it would only be right for me to indulge you into who your mates are, as Aro here already now knows, thus leaving only you in the dark."

Isabella smiled, nodding nervously in reply.

"I am sure you must know from your prior visit that there are three rulers: Aro, our brother Caius and myself. The rest of our coven consists of high and low ranking guards. Caius, whom you have yet to meet, is one of your mates. He has been searching for you, unknowingly, for sometime now and will be most happy to hear that you have been found. He has never given up in his searches and accepts that his mate might be human at first. That being so, despite his reputation of dislikement towards humans, he is much more accepting towards them than he airs to be. You will never have to worry about nor want anything as far as Caius is concerned."

Bella did not know what to feel.

"This leaves us to discuss your other mate. As you have most likely inferred from Aro's exclamation earlier having more than one mate is not a common occurrence as you are the first and quite possibly the last," he chuckled. "It would seem, Isabella, that you are extraordinary in almost every way."

"I can tell you this, your other mate is apart of the guard and is currently helping the Cullen's fight. He, like his twin, has a reputation but you need not worry about him using his powers on you. Alec will protect you as well as cherish you. You will never be alone, even if Alec is called away, as I doubt Caius will be planning any more search parties any time soon to look for his mate, and therefore remain in the castle with you."


	6. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer_: We do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters associated with Twilight and its sequels.

* * *

Hello again! We're back with an update, the longest one yet. We sincerely hope you'll enjoy it. This chapter is about Isabella and Caius. Don't forget to leave a review with your opinion, and thank you in advance!

\- Principessa Volturi and DramaDramaDrama

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"I can't believe this," Bella exclaimed, visibly shaking as the reality of what the Volturi kings had just told her finally settled in. "But... Edward is my mate! He wants to marry me! This... this just can't be. It's simply impossible!"

Marcus sighed. "Isabella, if Edward was truly your mate, would he ever have been able to leave you for longer periods of time in the first place?"

There was a short silence as Bella thought about Marcus' reply before she started sobbing uncontrollably, despair filling her.

"So," she cried, "every kiss, every promise, all this time, just _lies-_"

"No," Marcus interrupted, a soothing quality to his voice. "You're doing the poor fool injustice, my dear. In all actuality, he loved you with all his heart, Bella. I can't say it any other way. He still does. It was merely a misinterpretation. An error in judgement, if you will. He'd been lonely for such a long time that once he did find somebody, he immediately mistook it for the ultimate thing. And can you truly blame him? He is young, Isabella, he is foolish, you must learn to forgive him."

Bella's sobs grew worse as she imagined Edward fighting for her, ferociously murdering newborns out of what he thought to be pure and unconditional love, only to realize once the battle was over that there would no longer be a 'them', just him and her, inevitably separated.

The mere thought hurt more than she could possibly fathom.

"Don't cry, darling." Aro cooed. "Soon we will be in Volterra, and you will be able to leave this truly terrible, yet temporary sadness behind for true happiness. I promise you, whatever you had with the Cullen boy was only a fraction of what Caius and Alec will make you feel. Mating," Bella followed his eyes out of the window as he undoubtedly thought of his own other half, "it's the most heavenly thing."

But Bella's tears did not stop coming.

She could not take her mind off Edward's upcoming shock when he would realize she was gone, Charlie's despair when she would not await him when he returned home in the afternoon, Angela's guilt when she'd find out that she had willingly handed her over to her supposed kidnapper. The fact that what had seemed to be her inevitable future —becoming a Cullen— now could never be, and that instead, she would be a Volturi, one of the coven that had given her nightmares for over a year now.

And no matter how beautifully Aro worded the descriptions of how flawless her immediate future would be, the confusion and guilt and angst far overwhelmed any hope she could have possibly had.

"Shh," Marcus whispered into her ear coaxingly, pulling her into a one-sided embrace as Bella lay still in his arms. They were icy cold and she was shivering, but it was the gesture that counted, and she appreciated it, genuinely suprised by the softness of the third king. "Don't fret, Isabella. The bad part of this all will be over before you know it."

* * *

Despite the fact that Bella was still crying, the remaining part of the limo ride was decidedly more calm. Although the brothers gave the mortal girl some space, they almost constantly tried to make light conversation with her, not allowing her to think anymore about the things that were the reason behind her tears — quite successfully, too.

"Are you interested in literature?"

"Did you ever partake in a theater production?"

"Can you play an instrument?"

With each minute, Bella's tears receded more and more, and she gradually began opening up to the two ancient vampires.

This went on all the way up until they reached the Sea-Tac airport in Seattle, their final destination by car. It was already way past midnight by then, but Bella did not dare complain about being tired. Instead, another worry filled her mind.

"Aro," she cried out in terror, "I don't have my passport on me!"

Bella was genuinely worried — after all, God knew what would happen if they would be forced to stay in Washington for another few hours due only to her clumsiness. Both Aro and Marcus's eyes were pitch black, and she knew for a fact that Jessica, Lauren and Tyler had planned to spend the night in Seattle with an old friend of Lauren's.

But just as Bella was about to have a panic attack, she heard Aro merely chuckle in reply.

"Neither do we," he explained. "We never had any in the first place."

"But how..."

There was a devious smirk on his lips. "Allow me to demonstrate."

He took Bella by her hand and entered the airport with her, Marcus in tow. Soon they reached a check-in point, behind which a perhaps fourty-year-old woman with dyed black hair and icy blue eyes stared boredly back at them.

"Passports please," she stated in a monotone.

Aro's smile, if possible, only widened as he opened his raven black cloak, showing off a black designer suit and the large golden Volturi crest underneath. He took the 'V' pendant of the crest in his hands, then moved it forward towards the airport clerk, showing it off proudly like a badge. The woman's eyes widened in recognition.

"If you will," he said, still smiling, "we would like to catch our plane home."

"Of course sir," she responded instantly, her boredom quickly transforming into alertness. She hastily shut down her laptop, grabbed a sign from underneath her table that read 'Closed — Please Use Check-In Machines' and came forward from behind her desk until she finally stood infront of the two vampires and Bella. "Follow me please," she ordered, and they followed her without question.

"Don't worry," Aro quietly whispered to Bella as they made their way through the airport, led by the woman. "She doesn't know. Nobody does. But a few hours before we come to any place, the clerks are informed by their superiors that anyone bearing the crest is to be given whatever he or she wants. Not only at airports, but wherever we feel fit. Depending on wether they tell anyone about this incident afterwards, the clerks either get a raise or are permanently silenced. So far, this has always worked pretty well for us."

Bella gulped, although she found it hard to hide how impressed she was. "How on earth do you have that kind of power? Aren't the Volturi secret?"

Marcus smirked. "To everyone not worth knowing, yes," he replied. "But why don't you ask the president the next time we are scheduled to meet him?"

This effectively silenced her, and so she went back to silently following the airport clerk, all the time hoping that she would just stay silent about this intermezzo and get the bloody raise.

Bella had noticed the way that people reacted to the Cullens when she had been in public with them, but she would have imagined the humans' reaction to the two ancient Volturi lords to have been much more extreme. Albeit their violent histories and unusual personalities, to put it lightly, they did possess supernatural grace and beauty that was extraordinary even for the normal vampire, after all, putting even the dancer-like Alice Cullen to shame.

She did not know what she had imagined — probably something close to two godly shaped, pale as death and breathtakingly beautiful entities walking fluidly through the crowds, maneuvering them with such skill that they made it look like the hordes of humans parted just for them — but in reality, people just stopped to crane their necks a little to get a second glimpse at the two men who were clad in black.

This was bad news for Bella, who had firmly relied on people creating a path just for the Volturi leaders so that she would not trip and fall. Alas, this was her fate now. She stumbled along slightly behind them, finding herself in the mercy of gravity once in a while, hoping that the people around her would keep a firm grasp of their luggage and not jolt to a stop to stare in wonder at the vampires in front of her.

When people would momentarily stop to gaze a second longer at the Volturi Lords, though, Bella would see the metaphorical distance between her and her travel companions appear infront of her like a wide, hope-shatteringly deep abyss.

Marcus noticed this occur rather frequently, deciding it would be best to keep a close eye on her. He would occasionally slow his walk so that their steps matched. It was at moments like these that people would look at her with envy or scorn and, eventhough she was scared to admit it, Bella enjoyed those looks to no end.

Aro though was unperturbed by the lack of grace and agility of the human in their group and barely slowed down his pace to allow the others in his party to catch up with him.

They continued on in this fashion; Bella shuffling through the crowds with Marcus somewhere nearby keeping close watch on her, while Aro barreled through the crowds, excited that his brother and one of his most trusted guard had finally found their mate in the lovely Bella Swan. In conclusion, it was almost a monumental task to get through the crowds and onto one of the awaiting jets that was currently standing idle on the runway.

As Aro and Marcus had both taken one jet each to arrive in Seattle, it was decided among them that they would head back for Volterra in the first and leave the second for the guards who would leave America after they had dealt with the newborns and aided the Olympic Coven.

"I apologize that Alec will not be on the same plane as you, my dear," Aro said as the three made their way into the private jet, "but I trust that this is excusable? It is, of course, only because he is protecting your old coven."

Bella merely nodded, cringing at the mention of the Cullens but glad that Alec was still in Forks to assist them in destroying Victoria.

Once they had boarded the sleek and modern aircraft, they continued their earlier conversation about Bella's interests and life until they finally reached a height of several thousand meters and a non-descript, heavily perfumed stewardess informed them that they could now fasten their seatbelts.

Before anyone even had a chance to say a word or even touch their seatbelt, the wide, playful smile returned to Aro's face.

"Now," he began, and Bella noticed Marcus sighing next to her, obviously annoyed by his brothers' constant need for excitement. "As we have now reached a height at which it is tolerable to partake in phone calls, I would consider it only fair if we were to give poor Caius a warning before we completely overwhelmed him with the discovery of Isabella, no?"

"Aro, please... I'm shy enough as it is in person," Bella objected. "And wouldn't it be more appropriate if our first real meeting were in person? I would just make a complete fool of myself like this, and that's absolutely the last thing I need right now."

"Nonsense!" Aro exclaimed, waving off her concerns. "Besides, even if you do, Caius will be so overjoyed that he will hardly care. Now, who wants to have some _fun_?"

Not waiting for a response from his new sister, a rather giddy Aro pulled out his cell in a flourish before typing in what she assumed was Caius' number and put him on speaker.

Bella's face had meanwhile turned a bright red color in shame and anxiety. Marcus soothingly patted her back, shooting Aro death glares.

"Must you always ruin everything...?" he demanded angrily in a tone too low for Bella to hear. Several beeping noises indicated that the second king was not at all expecting Aro's call before, half a minute later, he finally picked up.

"What is it now?" came an aggravated voice from the other line. "I swear to the Gods, Aro, if you're just calling to say how _interesting_ the "New World" is again, I swear-"

"Caius, my dear brother!" Aro interrupted him happily, practically crowing in greeting. "I trust everything is in order at the castle? Marcus and I have the most delightful news!"

"The Cullens are dead?" His voice, Bella noted, was a rich as chocolate and as smooth as satin, but there was also something mildly dangerous about it. It both fascinated and terrified her.

"No, Caius, the Cullens are not dead."

"Still alive! Aro, how often must I tell you-"

"At least from what we could tell, although they are in a bit of a perilous situation." The mind reading Volturi brother continued his little speech rather calmly, not once stopping for his brother's replies. "They are currently fighting a newborn army, created by a woman who was determined to avenge her mate's death. The guards have been sent to their aid."

Aro had left a lot out of the explanation for sure, but since he knew the least of the situation, there really wasn't much he could offer. This did not serve to brighten Caius' already dark mood.

"And the stupid human girl? I trust those ignorant Olympics finally saw sense and did not change her like you had originally requested?"

"No, Caius. They did not. The woman, Miss Swan, is still mortal, but it is just as well, I suppose."

"And why on Earth would that be?" His voice was seeping with apathy, and it made Bella, who was listening to the conversation closely, all the more anxious.

Aro's matter-of-fact voice had by now transformed into a childish sing-song voice that was irritating Caius more than he would dare to admit, and goosebumps had started to form on Bella's arms.

Marcus watched on in amusement, although he was careful not show it.

"We-e-ell, as it is I was hoping that dear little Bella could do the honor of telling you that?" Aro spoke with the chirpiness of a bird before wildly gesturing for the human girl to lean forward, nearer to the cellphone.

For a moment, Bella froze. But then the moment passed, and she sighed, closed her eyes, leaned forward and, gathering all her courage, spoke up.

"I'm sorry if I'm unnerving you," she said with a nervous voice. "But this isn't easy for me, either. How do I say this... um, okay, here I go. Here's the thing: Marcus came to Forks because he saw my bonds to you and another person, and, erm..."

"Yes?" Caius seemed mildly interested all of a sudden.

"We're...well, as it turns out, _we're mates_."

There was a very long, pregnant silence and Bella could hear Caius gulping and driving his hands through his hair. Meanwhile, Marcus was trying his very best to contain his laughter as he suddenly understood why Aro had started this in the first place. This moment was priceless.

"Oh dear Gods," he finally whispered. "Zeus, Aphrodite! Help me for I have committed a grave foolishness. I've just totally insulted you, haven't I?" He sighed before continuing, louder this time. "Okay, let's start again. That was the most moronic thing I have ever done in my entire life, and I will be sorry for all of eternity, believe me. I'm Caius. Pleasure to meet you. And you are...?"

"The name's Bella Swan."

"Bella," muttered Caius, trying out his new mate's name, "I like that. I like that a lot."

And from that moment on, Isabella Marie Swan knew that nothing would ever be the same again.

* * *

Back in Volterra, the originally irate Caius had a spring in his step; a first for him. His mate had been found. Marcus and Aro had found her, and now no-one would be able to take her from him. Now all he had to do was wait for her to arrive.

He happily bypassed the fact that there was another one involved.

Jubilant — it was a word that was not usually in Caius' vocabulary, but perhaps it was the only word that could describe his emotions in that moment. The ice king, as he was at times called by his guard when he was not nearby, walked past the guards, a smile on his face, with no particular destination in mind. The guards did their very best not to appear too shocked, as they could not recall ever having seen the blond-haired king not scowl, let alone smile, but their efforts were in vain, and the second he had left them behind him, they scurried away to break the news to their fellow guards.

Caius chuckled at their excitement. Normally, he would have punished them, but today, he was way too happy to care.

"Isabella," he whispered gleefully, and the small smile on his lips turned into a short laugh. "Oh, how happy you will make me."

* * *

**As/N**: So, how did you like it? Please don't forget to leave a review, and we will try to update _A Shattered Eclipse_ as quickly as possible.

On another note, I (DramaDramaDrama) would like to encourage anyone who has read my story _The Story of Ruby Brown_ and enjoyed it to vote for it in the Black Velvet Awards, if you have not already done so. There are only two days left two vote, and you can do so at blackvelvetawards(-)blogspot(-)de, just replace the (-)s with dots. It's not available on mobile view, so you'll have to change it to the desktop version. Thank you for your support in advance!

\- Principessa Volturi and DramaDramaDrama


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